


The Weakest In The Land

by CplCrimp



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon: Magikarp Jump (Video Game)
Genre: YES i named the mcs after the legendary birds, YES i still play magikarp jump in the year of our lord 2019, YES lee zapdos is my pokesona
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:01:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21837910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CplCrimp/pseuds/CplCrimp
Summary: The world is inhabited far and wide by creatures called Pokemon. For some people, pokemon are pets. Others use them for battling.Carnelian City was a battling town.But Lee Zapdos was not a battling person.
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

The world is inhabited far and wide by creatures called Pokemon. For some people, pokemon are pets. Others use them for battling.

Carnelian City was a battling town.

But Lee Zapdos was not a battling person.

Complete opposite, actually. Lee just wanted to be surrounded by soft-looking friends. In fact, he couldn’t hardly stand the sight of pokemon getting hurt. 

Lee  _ had  _ tried to become a Cool Trainer Who Battled, but it didn’t last very long. His first pokemon was a squirtle, but she’d been beaten up pretty badly by a pidgey on their first journey around Carnelian City. Lee felt so,  _ so  _ terrible about it that he’d returned the squirtle to Professor Fig not even an hour after he’d gotten it.

Now Lee was a pretty big outcast. It made him very nervous. Lee was always anxious that everytime he went into town he’d be attacked by either a trainer or a wild pokemon, and he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. What made him more anxious, however, was the thought that people were judging him for not being a trainer.

So, Lee decided to leave good ole Carnelian City.

He packed all of his clothes into a teal backpack, and rushed across down to the Electrike Bus Stop. He wasn’t sure where he would get off. He just needed to be far away.

The bus was rather empty at this stop. Nevertheless, Lee took a seat in the furthest back corner and silently stared out the window.

The bus filled up more as Lee passed over Stonescreen City.

He sighed wistfully at the forest and rivers below the highway. His stomach growled as they entered the main part of Stonescreen, whishing past all the various food places. The bus stopped rather near to a restaurant, but Lee didn’t get off quite yet.

The bus continued. It passed by several more restaurants and Pokemarts, and continued taking a very empty, winding road. Nothing but grass and trees flanked either side of the asphalt.

However, it wasn’t long until the bus passed a home. Then another. Then another. They were nice little homes. They looked like cottages, with nice, fairy-like roofs. They sat under a hill and a black, wrought iron fence, though, so Lee couldn’t see their details completely.

Not much longer after passing several more houses, stone pillars were interlaced in the fencing. They were painted in a beautiful, swirling blue. Lee was entranced.

The bus slowed. The pillars got taller and taller. More grass and trees were behind the fences than housing. Then, the bus stopped.

Slowly, Lee decided to stand up. He tightly gripped the straps of his backpack, and cautiously made his way toward the front of the bus. A few of the other passengers looked at Lee awkwardly, and Lee could’ve  _ sworn  _ they’d heard a breezy laugh and whisper.

Near the driver, Lee reached into their jean pocket and pulled out their only crinkled five pokedollar. He nodded his thanks toward the driver and handed them the bill before he stepped off the bus.

Merely a second or two after Lee stepped off, the bus pulled away. It seemed to go even faster than before, and it whipped up Lee’s pink hair into his face. He pushed a strand behind their ear and rounded a corner. He let out a sigh of relief at being further away from the main road. 

Underfoot, the sidewalk and gray road crumbled into gravel. The fence was taller here, though abruptly ended a few yards away in red stone pillars. Atop the tall pillars was gray stone.

Imprinted in the stone was  _ Hoppy Town. _


	2. Chapter 2

Lee entered Hoppy Town’s gates looking around anxiously. Main street looked modern enough, save for the gravel road. There was a Pokemart on one side of the road, and a very large red gym on the other. After an empty lot was a strange building Lee had never quite seen before. It was red like the gym, with glass doors and a brown flooring.

“Hey, you!!” called a gruff, elderly voice.

Lee jumped and immediately turned on his heel, glancing around for the source. He quickly noticed an elderly man running towards him. He wore a red button-up shirt adorned with Pokeballs, and had a white beard. Lee was frozen in place as he neared.

The man didn’t speak immediately as he reached Lee. It took him several moments to catch his breath. Eventually, he cleared his throat, composed himself and spoke.

“Welcome to Hoppy Town!” he said, “My name is Mayor Karp. I’m in charge here in Hoppy Town,” Mayor Karp motioned around the street with his arms, “A magical place where everybody loves magikarp!”

Lee looked around. The noticed that everywhere there stood a person, also bounced a magikarp. There were more colors of magikarp than Lee even knew existed.

“Everyone raises magikarp around here,” the Mayor continued with a smile. “And magikarp is… well,” he seemed a bit lost for words. “...It’s a fine jumper, that’s for sure! It can jump like nobody’s business! Sure it’s known for being weak,” the Mayor’s voice got more depressed with each trait he listed. “...and pathetic, and utterly useless…” his voice bounced right back up again, “Yet it keeps on jumpin’! You gotta admire that, don’t ya think?”

Lee wasn’t sure if he was looking for a real response or not, but he awkwardly nodded.

“That’s why we all love this plucky little Pokemon around here!” the Mayor continued. As he said that, a magikarp cried and hopped from beside Mayor Karp and into his arms. 

Lee hadn’t noticed the fish was there, and jumped back in surprise.

“Here in these parts, folks love to compete to see whose magikarp can jump higher,” the Mayor explained. “In fact, there are eight different leagues you can compete in. But we haven’t had a league champion come out of our town in a long while…” the Mayor started to sound sad again. “Even the magikarp are starting to loose their motivation. Our magikarp are more like tragikarp these days…”

Lee nodded. The Mayor set down his magikarp and looked back at Lee with a sparkle in his eyes.

“You’re new around here, aren’t you?” The Mayor asked, “What should we call you around here?”

Lee lifted his arm and placed it on the back of his neck. “My name is Lee Zapdos,” he said, then kicked a piece of gravel. “I know what a weird last name  _ Zapdos  _ is,” he whispered.

The Mayor didn’t comment, though. “I bet you could raise up a champion magikarp and bring back our town’s pride!”

Lee’s stomach turned. Him?! 

The Mayor shifted to stand beside Lee. He patted his shoulder and nudged him forward. His magikarp hopped along behind them.

“We could really use a win around here, it would sure pick up our poor magikarp’s spirits!”

Lee just listened and let himself be dragged forward. The Mayor crossed the road and stopped in front of the strange red building that Lee couldn’t quite place.

“You are interested, right?” The Mayor asked.

Lee shook free of his grip and tucked a piece of hair behind his ear. “A-alright,” he answered.

The Mayor beamed and ushered the both of them inside the building. Against the other wall was a desk, with glass doors on either side. Some people milled around, looking at the paintings of champions past on the walls. Some people stood behind the glass doors, sitting, doing something Lee couldn’t exactly place. The Mayor nodded at the man behind the desk.

The man had brown hair and wore a white shirt. On top of the shirt was a life vest. Slung over his shoulder looked like a very thin guitar case. He had a small bit of a scraggly beard, too.

“Roddy,” the Mayor greeted, “This newcomer here is in need of a karp!”

Roddy nodded and smiled. “Come with me.” He said. He stepped out from behind the desk and led both Lee and the Mayor through the glass door. Lee was in sunlight again before he knew it.

The people he’d seen were fishing, Lee noticed. They sat on docks on pools larger than any he’d ever seen. He could see smears of color under the water. One of the people fishing lurched forward, and soon a beautiful golden magikarp emerged from the water and into their arms.

Lee doubted he could do that.

The Mayor spoke again, pointing at three fishing poles on a wall. “See these ole rods here?” he asked, “Those are exactly the expert tools needed to fish up a magikarp! I used to be a magikarp trainer back in my day. Boy, I made quite the splash back then. Now I’m just a washed-up old man,” he droned off. Roddy gave the mayor a look. The Mayor stuttered and continued, “I’ll pick out the best rod for you.” The Mayor picked the one to the left and extended it to Lee. He hesitantly took it. “Now, go fish up your karp!”

Roddy made his way back inside, while the Mayor patiently moved behind a wall to wait. Lee stared out over the pool. It was long and deep, and there was a dock on nearly every side. The only people were on the northernmost dock. That didn’t soothe Lee’s nerves. He hung close to the farthest wall to avoid the slippery stones, and stood at the dock against the far wall.

On the end of his rod, instead of a hook or Pokeball, was a razz berry. Lee seated himself on the dock, tossed the berry in the water, and waited. He felt his stomach twist and his heart pound. Man, what if the magikarp didn’t come? He’d have to catch another bus. And of how fast the last bus left Hoppy Town, Lee wasn’t all sure that was a common occurrence.

A hard tug pulled him out of his thoughts. He fumbled with the rod for a minute, then managed to find the handle and start reeling it in. 

A streak of red split the water. Gold glistened in the sunlight. Lee, startled by the furiousness the magikarp possessed hopping out of the pool, dropped the rod and rushed back. The magikarp, however, was finished with its awe-inspiring feat, and now flapped uselessly on the wood. Mayor Karp rushed over to stand behind Lee.

Lee leaned up, looking over the tiny fish. It was standard magikarp red, though a few patches were sunlit gold.

“That looks like a karp that can really jump!” Mayor Karp said. “And those whiskers! They say a magikarp born with black whiskers is the rarest of all, you know.”

Lee looked over his new friend one last time. It sure did have black whiskers. Hoppy Town really  _ was  _ Magikarp Color Central.

“What will you name it?” asked the Mayor.

Lee looked over the fish. On shakey legs, both from the startle of the leap and the creaking of the dock, he stood up. Then, he kneeled down and slowly swiped a hand across the magikarp’s back. It closed its eyes and gently cried. As softly as he could with anything slippery, Lee picked up the karp.

“I think I’ll call you Harbour,” he informed in a whisper.

Harbour cried approvingly.


	3. Chapter 3

“You’re diving right into become a magikarp trainer!” The Mayor said, “Let’s get your feet wet. You’ll need a place to stay. With a nice, big pond, Champion Lee. I’ll get that arranged, Roddy will tell you everything you need to know.”

The Mayor disappeared in a flash. Lee could tell the other people around the pool were staring at him and his black-whiskered magikarp. Who ever heard of a black-whiskered magikarp! Lee untucked their hair, clutched Harbour in both arms, and continued back inside.

Lee was startled by a gasp. He looked up to see a person rushing toward him. They had short brown hair, and big, broad glasses. They wore a yellow hoodie adorned with pokeballs.

“What a beautiful karp!” the person said. “Black-whiskered karp are very rare, you know!”

Lee nodded awkwardly.

“Are you new here?” the person asked, “I’ve never seen you around here. My name is Faye. I help Roddy out.”

“I’m Lee,” Lee answered.

“Does your karp have a name yet?” Faye asked.

“It’s Harbour.”

“Harbour! That’s great,” Faye went on. They used their knuckle to nuzzle Harbour’s head. They closed their eyes happily. “Magikarp with black whiskers are genderless, you know,” Faye stated. “That’s why they’re so rare. Females are called magis and have white whiskers, males are karps and have yellow whiskers.”

“Neato,” Lee answered.

“Is that your first karp?” Faye asked. Lee nodded. They gaped, starstruck. “I’ve never seen anyone fish up a gold calico on their first try.”

“...gold calico?” Lee repeated.

Faye nodded happily. “Magikarp come in all sorts of patterns! Gold calico is just one of them. I’m not sure how they’re made. I think they’re chimeras between shinies and regular karp.”

Harbour snorted indignantly. Faye laughed.

“I’m not very good at raising karp,” Faye stated. “But I can help you with yours, since you’re so new in town! I-I don’t have a lot of experience, but I do know a lot of things. You have a phone, yeah? I’ll give you my number.”

Lee nodded, and gently set Harbour down on the ground. The two swapped out their numbers, Lee awkwardly asked Faye how their name was spelt. As the pink-haired boy reached down to pick up Harbour again, the glass door creaked open.

A person walked in. They wore a red baseball hat and white long-sleeve shirt. A teal jacket was tied around their waist. They nodded at Roddy behind the counter without a word.

Harbour called, aggressively and repeatedly. Lee scooped him back up in his arms and rubbed his scales gently. “S’okay, bud.” He said. 

Faye sighed. “That’s Tara. She comes in here every week to fish up a new karp because she’s never satisfied with their natures.”

Lee didn’t even know how natures affected pokemon. What was someone who cared enough about natures to fish a whole new pokemon doing in a Magikarp Battling Town? But maybe that was part of that. Lee never was very smart about raising pokemon. Maybe he was getting in over his head.

Faye shook their head. “You’re new to magikarp training, yeah? I’ll show you the ropes.”

Lee set down main street as Faye rattled off every fact about magikarps.

“Magikarps  _ can  _ breathe air, but they  _ do  _ need to stay damp. So, whenever you’re training them, you need to spritz them about every half hour.”

Faye handed Lee a SquirtBottle. Lee aimed at Harbour and shot a nice mist at him. Harbour cried happily and hopped around. Eventually, the two of them arrived to meet the Mayor, see Lee’s new home, and get set up. Lee couldn’t help smiling as Harbour bounced on his bed.

“At least Harbour is settling in,” he muttered to himself.

It was a quaint little house. Lee liked it. It was painted a silvery-gray with those black-paneled fairy-hollow rooves. It was only two rooms, Lee’s bedroom and the living-kitchen area. For a small little home, it was rather spacious. There weren’t any fish tanks though, which confused Lee until he’d seen the pool out back. There was also a hot tub-like part near one of the doors, but Lee figured he could make use of that when he had several karps.

He padded out of his room and onto the patio. It wasn’t  _ quite  _ a patio. It was more like a bridge between one door to another, with pool on either side. The water was a nice, ocean teal with golden sand under. A few big rocks and strands of seaweed sat in the sand. Smoke and bubbles gently drifted up to the surface.

Lee sat on the patio and rubbed their knuckle into the side of Harbour’s head. He was really growing to like the little lad. They were cute. And a magnificent jumper. Harbour hopped into the pool just to prove it, splashing around and exploring their new home. Lee couldn’t help smiling.


End file.
